Reymond the M7 and Other Stories
by Conan Fleming
Summary: Dear friends, This is the story of Reymond, a large tank engine from the Mainland, who went to help the Fat Controller's Railway on Sodor. Along the way, he comes across many highly amusing adventures including a run in with cows, a scary story, and a rather sticky tunnel. I hope you all like them as much as I enjoyed writing them. The Author
1. Thomas and the Big Push

Thomas and the Big Push

Thomas the Tank Engine is proud of his branchline from Knapford to Ffharquar and, with his coaches Annie and Clarabel, runs it without fail several times a day. Annie and Clarabel are always coupled in a way that makes sure both face opposite directions to be sure Thomas has eyes back and forth along his line to avoid accidents. At the end of every run at both stations, Thomas has to always turn around at several switches to make sure he faces forward, sometimes having Annie be his rearview lookout instead of Clarabel. Thomas very rarely goes backwards on his branchline, because his driver says it's dangerous for an engine to go backwards rather quickly, much to Thomas' dismay.

One spring morning, Thomas was at Knapford waiting for his passengers. Gordon was on the next line over, waiting to start off with his express. Compared to the little engine, the bigger engine seemed more awake and ready to go. As the engines idled, Thomas piped up and asked, "Hey Gordon, have you ever gone backwards fast before?"

"I would say so, Thomas" Gordon responded. "I remember the turntable at Vicarstown was broken once, so I had to pull my express backwards. Why do you ask?"

"I wish I could go backwards on my branchline" Thomas sighed, "It'd be a nice change and, who knows, maybe it could be fun!"

Gordon groaned, "Thomas, it's not fun going backwards at all on the mainline, take it from me." As Thomas was about to ask why, the big engine blew his whistle and huffed away with the express, leaving the little engine in a cloud of steam.

Later in the day Thomas was taking a train of vans to Tidmouth. His mind was still occupied with the thoughts of traveling backwards when he heard a shrill whistle coming from in front of him. As he rounded the next bend, two bright green coaches and a black engine rushed past him in the opposite direction, too fast for Thomas to stop and take a good look. "Goodness, that train's going the wrong way!" he cried, realising the train's engine was facing forwards, yet pushing the train backwards.

"Come on Thomas," his driver sighed. "We can't stop now, we got these vans to deliver!" The little engine blinked and thought of what he saw as he continued.

Arriving at Tidmouth he saw Oliver pulling in with two coaches from the Little Western. They were maroon and cream with what looked like a cab at one end facing both directions, and a bell mounted above the windows. Thomas slowly pulled up to Oliver and asked, "Hello Oliver, what kind of coaches have you got there?"

"Oh, hello Thomas," Oliver said cheerfully. "Meet Dulcie and Isabel, my two auto-coaches!"

The two coaches rang their bells happily at Thomas. "Auto-coaches?" he asked, "What are they?"

"They allow me to go back and forth on my line without having to turn around and face another direction." Oliver explained, letting off some steam. "It's made my job easier so that I don't have to turn around and recouple again."

Thomas was in awe, "I saw an engine going away from Tidmouth, looks like he was pushing his train backwards."

"Oh, that's Reymond!" Oliver chuckled, "He's an autotank like me, but he calls his system 'push pull'." He scoffed, "Can't beat my Western autocoaches, that's for sure!"

Oliver's guard suddenly blew his whistle and climbed into Isabel, the coach giving an excited ring on her bell. "I must go now Thomas, hope you do come across Reymond soon!" he laughed as he whistled and pushed backwards on his two coaches, exiting out of the station and leaving Thomas stunned. Unbeknownst to his crew, he already had a plan…

The next day, Thomas was getting ready with his morning train up from Knapford when he saw the strange engine again. The engine was a tank engine. He was definitely bigger than Thomas with four big wheels in front, four smaller wheels in the back, a big "30053" on his bunker, and wearing teashade glasses on his smokebox. The engine pushed his green coaches into a terminal platform and came to a gentle stop, hissing steam as he hummed to himself.

Thomas spoke first, "Hello, I'm Thomas!"

The black-painted engine looked over, "Hello Thomas, I'm Reymond. I think I saw you yesterday coming with some vans yesterday bound for Tidmouth."

"That's right!" Thomas grinned, "I couldn't help but notice your odd coaches, actually…"

Reymond laughed, "They're not odd, they're push-pulls. They're called Amy and Trish, and both have been with me for quite a while."

Thomas "oohed" and "aahed", his eyes scanning the coaches as the sun rose higher into the sky and passengers began climbing into his and Reymond's trains. At the sound of the whistle, Reymond left the station first, smoke billowing as he clattered out of the station towards the mainline. As Thomas watched the black M7 puff away, he thought to himself, "_I know what I'll do when I get to Ffharquar…"_

The journey to Ffharquar was normal throughout the morning, and Thomas enjoyed the morning dew shining on the grassy fields beside the line. He pulled into Dryaw station just in time to see Percy puffing back down the line with some refrigerated vans. The two friends whistled hello to each other before Percy sped off into the distance and Thomas left the station. At noon, Thomas pulled into Ffharquar and came to a rest at the platform. The passengers got in and out of Annie and Clarabel and a workman began to uncouple Thomas from his coaches. This set the plan into motion.

"E-excuse me!" Thomas said, trying his best to act. The workman and his driver looked over at Thomas. "Would you mind not uncoupling me? I think the points are broken at the wye last I checked, so I can't turn around." The driver and workman looked at each other, his driver suspicious as Thomas hoped he believed him.

Finally, his driver relented. "Alright Thomas", he said a bit sternly. "You can go backwards up your line once, but be cautious!"

Thomas grinned from buffer to buffer, whistling happily, "Get in quickly, please!" The guard closed the doors and got into Clarabel, who suddenly felt a sharp push backwards.

"Oh I say!" She cried, looking back, "Thomas, what's going on?!"

"Just relax, Clarabel!" Thomas grinned, backing out of the station, "I'm push-pulling!" The couplings loosened between Annie, Clarabel, and Thomas as the odd train pushed its way out of the station. Thomas' driver checked his regulator to make sure he wasn't going too fast to jerk the coaches, and the passengers didn't mind the backwards run at all. Thomas was so happy he could barely contain himself, "I'm doing it! I'm actually doing!"

The odd consist soon pulled into Elsbridge; Toby was on the up line with a goods train and, seeing Thomas shoving his train gently into the station, raised an eyebrow. "Thomas" he asked kindly, "What in the world you doing..?"

"I'm being a push-pull engine like Oliver!" Thomas beamed, "It's really fun!"

"Don't you think you ought to be careful not to shove Clarabel into anything?" The tram asked innocently.

"I'll be careful" Thomas bragged, "Pushing a train backwards is easy!"

Toby frowned as Thomas whistled and backed out of the station, muttering to himself, "Don't say I didn't warn you…" as he continued up the line.

Thomas' journey to Knapford went uneventful the rest of the way. The little blue engine was so relaxed in his new push-pull duty that he didn't realise the train was already coasting into Knapford yard, with Gordon ready to pull out of platform one. Clarabel saw the signal was against them and shouted, "Thomas, stop!" Unfortunately, Thomas wasn't listening, his head stuck in the clouds and humming to himself. Gordon whistled and started with his train, heavy puffs of smoke filling the air. Clarabel shut her eyes as they headed for the points, her guard putting her brakes on. Feeling the resistance, Thomas gasped and his driver pulled his brakes too, but it was too late. Clarabel skidded right into Gordon's way, forcing the big blue engine to stop quickly and bump his coaches.

"Goodness!" Gordon cried, recoiling from the quick stop, "Thomas, what do you think you're doing!? You could have caused an accident like that!"

"Sorry, Gordon!" Thomas squeaked sheepishly as he pulled Clarabel out of Gordon's way, "I was trying to be a push-pull engine…."

"I told you it wasn't fun going backwards, you could have hurt Clarabel, your passengers, or even I!" Gordon grunted, pulling away quickly with his train, leaving Thomas feeling ashamed.

As Thomas pulled into a terminal platform, the Fat Controller was there with Reymond, both of whom saw everything. "Thomas, what in Sodor's name were you thinking?" the Fat Controller asked, "That was incredibly careless of you, shoving your train blindly."

"I'm sorry sir" Thomas said quietly, avoiding eye contact with him, "I was just trying to be like an autotank like Reymond or Oliver."

"Be like me?" Reymond asked, peering through his teashades. "Thomas, I don't really think you can be an autotank like me." Thomas looked at Reymond, who quickly corrected himself, "Err, I mean because with me and Oliver, we have special levers in our chassis that connects our driving carriage controls to our cab. That's why my driver's able to control me even when not inside my cab."

Thomas blinked and looked over at Reymond, still not feeling any better and keeping Fat Controller and Reymond gave each other a look before Reymond spoke up again. "Sir if it's ok, would you mind if I can help Thomas feel better?"

"I don't see why not." The Fat Controller replied, turning to Thomas. "Don't feel bad Thomas, no one got hurt and I'm certain you've learned your lesson out of this." Thomas emitted a feeble weesh as the Fat Controller sighed and turned to Reymond, saying to the M7. "Are you sure you can cheer him up?"

"Absolutely, sir!" Reymond grinned, "Come along Thomas, follow me to the coach yard!"

Later in the afternoon, Gordon was waiting at Wellsworth with the express, enjoying a nice quiet nap and relishing the opportunity to rest after his intense sprint to Vicarstown. Suddenly, the silence was interrupted by loud cheering and a cheeky little whistle, as Gordon opened his eyes to see Reymond puffing up the line with his driving coaches and Thomas coupled backwards on the other end of the train, clearly having the time of his life. As the little blue engine saw Gordon he whistled, "Look Gordon! I'm an Autotank now!"

The proud engine groaned and shut his eyes as the two tank engines clattered off onto the distance, and as they did, Gordon opened one eye and smirked, saying to himself, "At least he's found something to do…"


	2. Chuffy Bumpy Beep Sheep

Chuffy Bumpy Beep Sheep

Along Thomas' branchline lies a large farming estate owned by Farmer McColl. He and his family raised sheep, cattle, and other livestock to sell at markets in Elsbridge and Ffarquhar as well as fresh produce for mainland-bound trains. The farm depended upon the railway constantly, and it was always Thomas and his friends' pleasure to help at the farm whenever they could.

One early spring morning, Thomas was on a passing siding at Farmer McColl's with some vans, taking some of the farm's sheep and produce to market. The driver, fireman, and guard all helped with carrying crates of produce and herding the sheep gently into the vans, with the sheep offering pleasant bleats of compliance as they stepped aboard their special train. Thomas took the time to relax and simmer down, when a shrill whistle broke through behind him.

"Morning, Thomas!" Reymond called, passing by slowly with Thomas's replacement service, "Nice passengers you got!"

"Says you!" Thomas shot back, smirking, "And do be careful on the line today, it might get bumpy!"

"You got it!" Reymond called as he sped away with his two coaches, clearing Thomas's line.

A few minutes after Reymond had left, Thomas's siding was lined up to the branch main and the vans were closed with a bang. The guard climbed back into his brakevan with Farmer McColl and blew his whistle, with Thomas responding in kind. Slowly but surely, the little blue engine puffed away from the farm with the sheep, taking extra special care not to bump the vans.

Up the line, Reymond was already letting passengers off at Ffarquhar and readying for a run back down the line. His driver had exited his cab and took his spot inside Trish's cab to operate from there. A few minutes later, some new passengers filled up the train and, with a blast from his whistle, Reymond departed the station for Hackenback.

Meanwhile, down the line, Thomas was just coming up to the tunnel where he once had gotten stuck in a snowdrift. With his driver checking speed and the train holding fast, Thomas surged up the grade as if he was racing Bertie, his wheels bucketing along the rails. All of a sudden, Thomas felt himself jerk forward forcefully, banging the vans.

"Wh-what's going on!?" He called to his driver, feeling himself slow down as his driver shut off steam.

"Rails might be a bit bumpy!" His driver called back, looking back to check the condition of the train, "All seems alright though, we'll keep going!"

Thomas agreed and continued on until right as they got to the tunnel. Another massive bang shook the train as they rolled over a cracked piece of track, forcing one of the van couplings to come unhitched! The sound of Thomas's heavy puffing into the tunnel masked the loud clang of the uncoupled cattle van , the train coming in half as Thomas sped out of the tunnel quickly, hoping to make up time for slowing down. As he did speed off, Thomas neglected to hear Farmer McColl and the guard calling after him, as well as the plaintive bleat of the bumped sheep.

Up the line at Hackenbeck, Reymond's driver was waiting for the line to clear as the guard ushered new passengers inside the train and assisted others in departing the station. Reymond was also waiting boredly too, humming to himself as his fireman watched the red signal intently. Thomas should have come through by now, the big tank engine thought, where is he?

As if by coincidence, Thomas rocketed through Hackenbeck as fast as his wheels could carry him, whistling urgently. "Sorry for making you late!" He yelled as he sped off into the distance, surprising Reymond. He didn't have time to stay surprised though, as the signal finally dropped and his driver rang Amy's bell.

"Ding ding, Reymond!" Amy and Trish cheered, finally relieved at being able to go again.

"You got it, girls!" Reymond chuckled back and started off again, hoping to have a nice fast run down to Elsbridge to make up the delay.

Thomas meanwhile had finally arrived at Ffarquhar, completely out of breath as he pulled up to the platform. The market was already bustling with activity as Toby and Henrietta were on the other track with the Fat Controller, waiting to depart. The Fat Controller had noticed Thomas come in rather quickly and approached him as workers began to unload the vans.

"Thomas, you're a few minutes late!" Said the Fat Controller, "What happened?"

"S-sorry sir.." Thomas panted, "I got held up at the tunnel, some of the track went bad by the south portal!"

"I see… the Fat Controller mused, scratching his chin, "So where's Farmer McColl?"

"H-he should be right-" Thomas stopped suddenly, knocked on his cabside by his driver. The engine and his crew looked back, only to find four produce vans trailing behind, and no sign of any cattle cars or a brakevan.

"Oh no!" Thomas gasped, "I must have left them behind somewhere!"

"Do you know exactly where, Thomas?" Toby asked, glancing worriedly to his friend.

"I-I don't know…!" Panicked Thomas, "But it must have been somewhere near the tunnel!"

"Thomas" the Fat Controller said sternly, trying to calm the engine down as Thomas jerked backwards, ready to run, "Do you know who else might be on the line?"

Thomas thought for a moment, and then realized, "I don't know sir, I don't…"

Reymond's driver relaxed into Amy's cab seat as the train traveled backwards through the curve. The journey seemed normal, until the tunnel was bearing down on the train. The driver tugged on Amy's bell twice.

"Ding-ding~!" Amy hummed, "Whistle, Reymond!"

"Sure!" Reymond replied back and whistled again. As they approached the mouth however, the driver found no light was shining through the short tunnel. All of a sudden, the whole train rammed into a blockage, Amy's buffers driving headlong into a van's. The passengers were rocked roughly out of their seats, and Reymond was brought to a quick stop by the fireman, who had lost his footing and knocked against the back of the cab. The driver wasn't as quick either, having found himself faceplanting into the push-pull coach's windshield.

As everyone eventually came to, Farmer McColl brought his flock of sheep back towards the empty vans as Thomas' guard ran inside the tunnel and shined a light on the train.

"...'Ello?" Thomas' guard called out, "Anyone awake?"

"Y-yes.. I think so…" Amy groaned quietly, opening her eyes to find herself staring at a rather curious sheep who followed the guard inside. The coach was curious as well, and as Farmer McColl joined Thomas's guard to see to the driver and Reymond's guard from the coaches, the sheep let out a little bleat at Amy.

"Beep?" Amy squeaked in response.

"Baah!" replied the sheep.

As the coach and sheep began to 'beep' and 'baah' at each other, Farmer McColl finally reached the front and found Reymond, a bit dazed but still maintaining steam. The large tank engine peered down at the two relieved men and blinked.

"Can I help you, Mister…?" Reymond groaned a little, seeing his driver join them.

"I believe you can!" Thomas' guard replied, "Our engine broke off going to Ffharquar, and these sheep need to be at market quickly!"

"Would you mind pulling us there?" Farmer McColl asked, patting Reymond's buffer.

Reymond looked to his crew, who nodded as his own guard calmed the passengers down, and replied, "I believe I can."

With the derailed van re-railed and the sheep all loaded aboard, much to Amy's displeasure, Reymond cautiously rolled the rest of the train past the damaged track and started for Ffarquhar. The noise from his stack deafened the little valley as the tank engine roared forward up towards Hackenback, not used to hauling mixed trains. Through into Hackenbeck, Reymond passed the stationmaster on the platform, who rang ahead to Ffarquhar to deliver the good news.

Thomas waited on a siding track out of the way, having been admonished slightly by the Fat Controller. "You should have looked behind you, Thomas," the Fat Controller said, standing by the engine, "That way you can be aware if something like this happens."

"Yes sir…" Thomas replied quietly, then perked up when he heard a shrill whistling from afar. The Fat Controller turned as Reymond hurried into Ffarquhar station, towing two coaches, four cattle vans, and a brakevan with Farmer McColl inside. The market workers got to work unloading the sheep to a proper pen off the platform, as Farmer McColl waved hello to Thomas and the Fat Controller.

"'Ello, sir!" Farmer McColl called, "Didn't end up too badly getting here thanks to this fast engine!"

"No problem at all, glad to see you can make it!" The Fat Controller heartly replied, and turning to Reymond, said, "Good job Reymond, congratulations on being really useful and making it here as soon as you could."

"Think nothing of it sir!" Reymond called out, whistling happily, "Now can you get these vans off me so I can make up for lost time!?"

"You heard him Thomas", the Fat Controller said, turning to Thomas, "Now run along!" Thomas whistled and quickly got the vans uncoupled from Amy. With a whistle and hiss of the steam, the passengers cheered as Reymond finally departed south for Knapford. As they began to leave, however, the Fat Controller and Thomas both noticed an odd passenger inside Amy's driving cab. The two beginning to warn Reymond, both engine and man were instead greeted by a rebellious, gleeful "BAAH!" from Amy and her new friend.


End file.
